[Echocardiographic study of hypertrophic myocardiopathy in children. Distribution and changing morphological course]. / Estudio ecocardiográfico de la miocardiopatía hipertrófica en niños. Distribución y evolución morfológica cambiante.

Thirty-eight children with diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy were analyzed by M-Mode, two-dimensional and Doppler. The patients ranged in age from 7 days and 20 years (average 5 years). Three groups appear, based in morphologic myocardial affection. Patients with biventricular involvement ranged in age from 20 days and 6 months (group 1), patients aged until 6 years with left ventricular concentric morphology by echocardiographic examination (group 2), and the older in age group (group 3) with localized mid-ventricular hypertrophy in the same ventricle. A certain degree of obstruction was detected in 15 cases (46.8%). In both this aspect and systolic anterior motion of mitral valve and mitral regurgitation, the highest frequency was obtained in group 3. With respect to others echocardiographic parameters, like isovolumetric relaxation time and left ventricle short fraction, no variations have been observed between the three groups. Very interesting is the fact that one third of the patients of group 1 improved markedly, and another third of cases died. In conclusion, the echocardiography permits identify three groups in the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in children, according to age and anatomic region affected. The variability of evolution in the youngest group of patients, suggest that certain cases are not true myocardiopathies, but myocardial hypertrophies secondaries to other problems. Only the oldest group supply the classics parameters of the adult hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.